Friday, December 9, 2011

FLOOR SLAB - FIRST POUR

The lower level floors of the house are concrete. 'Eurosteel' reinforcing bars connect from the footings, as well as the insitu concrete walls. The insitu concrete floors are poured over 'EXPOL' 100mm thick EPS polystyrene insulation which is laid on top of a continuous layer of polythene. The slab is reinforced with steel mesh, spaced off the EPS insulation boards on spacers that maintain cover to the steel mesh. Beneath the polythene is a layer of compacted sand on top of a porous hardfill. Pipework protrusions are made with sleeves to accommodate the necessary services (e.g. plumbing, wiring and ducting for 'Zehnder' ventilation system from Fantech, which will be installed later in the programme) for the requirements of the house design.

The sand layer beneath the polythene is screeded level. The black polythene can be seen,and the insulation board sitting on top. The 'Ecoblock' forming the edge of the slab isbraced with timber ready for the concrete pour.

Starter rods protrude from the adjacent concrete wall to tie into the concrete floor slab. The DPC can be seen turning up at the slab edges, and wall.

The sand layer is compacted

Gaps between the insulation board are sealed with 'Loctite'

Reinforcing mesh is spaced off the insulation board.The deeper level is a thickening in the slab.

Reinforcing steel at the intersection of thickenings in the concrete slab. Spacers sit on the insulation board.

Pipes that penetrate the slab have an insulating sleeve applied, with a closed end to protect the pipe from concrete entry

Viewing the house from the west looking east, the lower level floor slab is being set out. The edge containment of the future slab can be seen by the 'Ecoblock' formwork.

The slab preparation is complete, ready for the concrete to be poured over

Once the preparation was complete, and the wet weather cleared adequately, the concrete was poured to form the rear floor slab.

The poured slab is kept moist to control the drying process
allowing the concrete to cure and to minimise shrinkage cracks.

An intolerable heat use to enter by the slab of a house, but insulating the slab using some materials before concreting is a better idea to prevent heat entering the house from the slab.House Insulation NZ